The Navigation Skills Assessment Program (NSAP) is a simulation-based program that assesses mariners' navigation skills at various levels of experience. It uses realistic scenarios to evaluate skills in areas like shiphandling, navigation rules compliance, bridge resource management, and more. Results are analyzed to identify training needs and mitigate risks. The program aims to reduce maritime incidents by improving competency.

1. NAVIGATION SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
MITAGS-PMI
I N T E R N AT I O N A L S TA N D A R D S
G L O B A L R E C O G N I T I O N
O B J E C T I V E C R I T E R I A
R I S K M I T I G AT I O N
F O C U S E D T R A I N I N G
R E G U L AT O R Y C O M P L I A N C E
C O N T I N U A L I M P R O V E M E N T
C A N D I D AT E S E L E C T I O N
E M P L O Y E E S C R E E N I N G
C A R E E R P L A N N I N G

2. NSAP® DEFINED
The Navigation Skills Assessment Program (NSAP®
) is a risk-
based measurement tool to assess a mariner’s performance in
the simulator, focused specifically on the core skills required
of licensed deck officers as defined by international standards
and industry best practices. Each NSAP®
session uses realistic
scenario-based exercises geared toward each company’s oper-
ation and is assessed by trained and qualified subject matter
experts. At the conclusion of the session the participant is
debriefed by the assessor/facilitator. The debrief provides an
opportunity for the participant to discuss his/her performance
with the facilitator and for the facilitator to provide guidance
to improve and enhance the participant’s navigational skills.
The ultimate goal of the NSAP®
is to reduce catastrophic
maritime incidents by addressing mariner competency and
knowledge and use of technology. At the conclusion of the
NSAP®
session a comprehensive report is provided to the
company which can be used to determine the allocation of
resources to improve specific skills or mitigate specific risks.
“The NSAP®
was a very effective way to accomplish both objectives and provided a valuable tool to identify
opportunities for improvement both on an individual and fleet-wide level. It brought broad issues to the
surface quickly like overreliance on ECDIS and lack of effective COLREGS application. Of further note
is a definite cultural shift after the officers went through the NSAP®
process: Captains were taking lessons
learned back to their vessels to raise the level of watchstanding by mates.”
– Captain Scott Craig, Director, Marine Development
and Compliance, Crowley Marine Services

3. “I’m highly impressed with the work you are doing and the way you go about de-
veloping the NSAP®
product. I also enjoyed meeting and spending time with the
MITAGS-PMI Leadership Team, an impressive group of people. And last but not
least, it was personally very gratifying to see the Cockpit Resource Management
principles we developed at NASA during the 70s and 80s translated so effectively
into the marine environment.”
– Dr. John Lauber, former Chief of the Aeronautical Human Factors
Research Office of NASA
www.mitags-pmi.org

4. DEVELOPED TO HIGHEST STANDARD
The NSAP®
assessment criteria are developed to measure
mariner performance using the highest psychometric stan-
dards in the industry. The minimum standards of compe-
tence outlined in STCW Table A-II/1 and A-II/3 are used
as the starting point. The scenario is then created using
elements and challenges that mariners encounter in the real
world—shoals, aids to navigation, traffic, weather, currents,
shiphandling, bridge team management, communication,
and vessel traffic systems—all of which are integrated into
the appropriate regulatory framework of navigation rules,
shipboard management systems, and company policies and
procedures. As each layer is added, the realism and feasibil-
ity of the challenges created by that layer are evaluated by
subject matter experts. By creating the scenario element by
element, the developers build an assessment that is chal-
lenging and yet still within the capabilities of a competent
mariner.
The Navigation Skills Assessment Program is developed
based on an extensive Job Task Analysis and each assess-
ment element is carefully mapped with Domestic and/or
International regulations according to the various responsi-
bilities of the NSAP®
participants.
Each of the below NSAP®
scenarios include a Re-
Assessment component.
NSAP®
Oceans – Management Level
Primarily Mgmt Level Deck Officers operating Deep Draft
Vessels on Ocean Routes subject to the STCW.
NSAP®
Oceans – Operational Level
Primarily for Operational Level Deck Officers operating
Deep Draft Vessels on Ocean Routes subject to the STCW
NSAP®
Workboat
Primarily for Deck Officers operating vessels of a tonnage
less than 3000 ITC operating on Routes subject to the STCW
NSAP®
River
Primarily for Deck Officers operating vessels of a tonnage
less than 3000 ITC operating on Routes generally not
subject to the STCW
NSAP®
New Hire
Primarily utilized to assist companies in the hiring process.
The NSAP® new hire may be utilized with a ‘cut-score’
upon request.
“Development of the Navigation Skills As-
sessment Program (NSAP®
) required the
application of psychometric principles and
procedures as specified by Progeny Systems
Corporation (PSC), which were in accor-
dance with technical, professional, and legal
standards. Reliable and valid assessment
policies ensure that the performance assess-
ments of deck officers in the NSAP®
program
are based on job-related criteria as defined
by work analysis led by Dr. Hertz (Applied
Psychologist at PSC) who is trained as an
industrial-organizational psychologist.”
– Progeny Systems Corporation
MITAGS-PMI

5. REVIEWED BY LEADING EXPERTS
Upon completion of extensive beta testing by mariners
with similar skills and experience as the target audience, in-
dependent experts in the field of evaluation and assessment
are brought in to review the system and methodology.
“Overall, the assessment MITAGS-PMI
West Coast campus has developed for their
NSAP®
was observed to be sound and well
aligned to the performance skills of interest.
Specifically, their group of subject matter
experts possess an extraordinary wealth of
practical ship piloting knowledge and ex-
perience, and were able to craft a well-de-
signed exercise that incorporates more
than 20 plausible, challenging, and in some
cases, unexpected event scenarios to serve
as measures for their assessment.”
– Evaluated by Alan Koenig, PhD, Markus Iseli,
PhD UCLA National Center for Research on
Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing
The MITAGS-PMI Navigational Skills Assessment Pro-
gram (NSAP®
) was discussed at length with Dr. Barbara
Holder, the lead scientist with the Flight Deck Concept
Center at Boeing. Dr. Holder believes that PMI’s sim-
ulation development team is creating effective training
and evaluation for mariners at all levels. Dr. Holder also
indicated that the scenario-based testing that is currently
being implemented by MITAGS-PMI is in line with what
Boeing is hoping to do in the future to supplement their
event-based simulation.
RISK MITIGATION
At the end of each session, the data is compiled, quan-
tified, and analyzed, and the various observations and
recommendations are synthesized to create a plan for
future skill improvements and other risk mitigations. Ul-
timately this creates a concise picture of key performance
indicators and trends that may require additional actions
to help mitigate risk.
At the end of a pre-determined number of NSAP®
sessions
as determined by the company, a comprehensive NSAP®
summary report is generated which reveals the following
information:
“We’ve found NSAP to be a valuable tool for understanding, verifying and enhancing the skills
of our captains. Such continuing attention and education is integral to Moran’s commitment to
safety and environmental responsibility; it helps us identify and focus on precisely the training,
skills and equipment we need to keep our sailors, customers, and the marine environment safe.”
– Edward J. Tregurtha, President, Moran Towing Corporation
www.mitags-pmi.org

6. ■■ Competency/performance gaps
■■ Areas of strengths
■■ Recommendations for training
Analysis may also include trends by experience, computer
use, education, and other pre-defined areas. Session and
summary reports provide management with valuable data
to make knowledgeable decisions toward managing human
risk factors, recruitment, and retention.
The NSAP®
provides companies with a realistic mechanism
to safely identify, assess, and control watchkeeping and navi-
gational risk through wheelhouse simulation, feedback, and
comprehensive reports.
MITAGS-PMI AND QSE SOLUTIONS
MITAGS-PMI has partnered with QSE Solutions to provide
external quality oversight and control for the data collec-
tion and objective reports generated by the NSAP®
process.
QSE Solutions has earned a reputation as one of the most
respected and knowledgeable companies providing service
to the maritime industry in the fields of quality, safety, envi-
ronment, and competency management systems.
Analysis of the data and the formulation of both summa-
rized observations and corrective recommendations are a
key element to the success of the program. In a continuing
effort to improve the skills and performance of mariners,
the program endeavors to provide the company and the
participant with as much objective data as possible in order
to make informed decisions about training and further skill
improvements.
“The International Organization of Mas-
ters, Mates & Pilots is implementing the
NSAP®
as the next step in our continu-
ing commitment to provide the highest
quality deck officers to our contract
companies.”
–Don Marcus, President IOMMP

7. www.mitags-pmi.org
“The assessment process including the simulation scenarios are scientifically engineered to uncover
the true and actual level of competency of a navigating officer giving ship owners/ship managers a
vivid picture of risk areas that will need to be mitigated. It provides highly valuable input equal to
if not more than what can be gathered from professional/technical interviews, simulation training,
workplace (on the job) assessment and performance appraisal combined.”
– Captain Terence Uytingban, General Manager,
UltraShip Crewing Phils., Inc.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Upon conclusion of each assessment session, a detailed
analysis is provided of the individual raw data and the larger
data pool of participants. This analysis allows for extensive
comparisons and detailed trend analysis of skill gaps. Re-
ports typically include results based on participant back-
ground and other statistics, including license held, number
of years in industry, source of education, and geographic
operating area, among many others parameters.
The program presently offers reports based on individual
sessions, providing immediate feedback on the performance
of individual mariners. In addition, the NSAP®
generates
reports that summarize the performance of an entire com-
pany’s fleet of mariners, allowing for broad comparison of
skills as well as analysis of company specific trends or risks.
Finally, the program provides an Industry Compilation
report that provides comparative analysis of mariner and
corporate performance across the entire industry spectrum.
“MITAGS is a maritime industry training estab-
lishment with a proven track record and excellent
facilities, particularly in ship simulation. The
NSAP®
is a unique program that objectively mea-
sures the skill set of deck officers in the important
and highly critical aspect of safe navigation. Both
the questions of whether they possess salient skills
such as ship handling, leadership, communica-
tions and management coupled with adequate
knowledge in COLREGS; and whether they can
use and tie up such knowledge and skills together
to establish good situational awareness--thereby
allowing them to make intelligent decisions--are
very aptly captured. It is a programme that deliv-
ers instant and enduring results.”
– Stewart Bankier, LG/HRM Manager, BSM,
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (UK) Ltd.
-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
COMMS
BRM
TOOLS
NAVREGS
SHIP
Pre-Training
Post-Training

8. NAVIGATION SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
PRESENTED WORLDWIDE
As a result of global demand for an objective tool in risk mitigation, MITAGS-PMI has implemented the NSAP®
at various
International Training Centers (ITC) throughout the world. By developing a scripted and objective standardized assessment,
the NSAP®
ensures consistency of methodology and ability to quantify the results for industry trending and analysis. Every
NSAP®
ITC is vetted through a rigorous training and licensing process and is followed up by regular audits to ensure mainte-
nance of the highest level of quality.
CURRENT NSAP®
LOCATIONS
Pacific Maritime Institute – Seattle, USA
Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies – Baltimore, USA
Philcamsat – Philippine Center for Advanced Maritime Simulation and
Training – Manila, PI
South Shields Marine School – Newcastle, UK
Singapore – Pending
India – Pending
SCHEDULE AN NSAP®
DEMONSTRATION TODAY
Contact:
Gregg Trunnell, Director, Business Development, MITAGS-PMI
Mobile: +1 206 719-2801
www.mitags-pmi.org
PMI
SEATTLE, WA
MITAGS
BALTIMORE, MD
STC TYNESIDE, UK
PHILCAMSAT
MANILA, PH
SINGAPORE
PENDING
INDIA
PENDING